Just before i go, some not so good news for the motoring public :: Motorists will have to pay more for petrol and diesel as prices go up by two sen per litre as of midnight. This has been reported by the Star, here So those of you with almost empty tanks, go fill up before midnight. 2 sen saved is 2 sen gain lah. Vote BN and this is what we all get. Power to the People. Under the new price structure, the price of RON97 petrol in the peninsula would now be RM1.37 per litre, RM1.33 per litre for RON92 petrol and 78.1 sen per litre for diesel, he said, adding that new LPG price would be RM1.35 per kg. The DTCA MINIster said that the Government[read the taxpayers] would still have to fork out more than RM800mil in subsidies and tax exemptions for these products next month. Happy Workers' Day, Happy Labour Day, Happy May Day.
It's Homeward Bound for the first batch of the PLKN trainees, some 25,000 or so of them. But for one, he was destined not to complete the course, may God blesss his soul. Hopefully, most of the trainees would be going home with a better sense of national unity and some may even be humming "I am a Rock" after the training they have received and endured. Those lucky ones who have managed to hang on to their handphones despite the many thefts reported must be recalling many of those Dangling Conversations they may have had using them. Subsequent batches of trainees may not be so lucky as there are talks of banning them in the future. There are no reports so far of any Mrs Robinson in the camps, but there was an alleged rape (accused appeared in court recently) and two cases of alleged molest of male trainees by a trainer. And not just for the RM200 million and maybe more spent on you all but also for what your parents and friends have had to endure during your stint, all of you, hopefully, are coming home better than before and may long after remember Old Friends. Welcome back.
Read this Bernama article regarding the MINIstry now run by the Bow-Tied one. Excerpts from the report ::
[ The Information Ministry Thursday night organised a dinner to celebrate the landslide victory of the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 11th general election.]
Is it right and appropriate for a MINIstry to organise a celebration for the election victory of a political party using taxpayers' money? Who approve this celebration? Just imagine how much of the taxpayers' money would have to be spent or misspent if all the MINIstries were to organise such events. Those present at the dinner event included the PM, BN MPs, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tun Dr Mohamed Zahir Ismail, Dewan Negara President Tan Sri Dr Abdul Hamid Pawanteh, BN Secretary-General Tan Sri Khalil Yaakob and other Cabinet leaders.
In his opening speech, Information Minister Datuk Paduka Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir said the banquet was also in appreciation of the roles played by other agencies in bringing about the BN win.
When the MINIster mentioned other agencies, was he having government agencies in mind, if so should that be the case?
28th April will be remembered as a day of bloody carnage in southern Thailand. The news concerning this is hogging the headlines of most of the papers today.
At last count, two Thai army officers and three policemen were killed and as for the others variously labelled as terrorists, militants, bandits and drug addicts, rebels and separatists, 107 were dead in the raids yesterday.
Will this day of bloody carnage lead to even more bloody ones?
PLKN :: Najib Satisfied; Kit Siang Wants It Made Voluntary for Girls
With the recent turn of events and brickbats for the PLKN, the MINIster in charge still says that he is satisfied with the overall achievement and conduct of the National Service programme despite the hiccups. Najib said the people must bear in mind that this is the first time the programme is being carried out and therefore, it is not wise to gauge its success based on some incidents that had occurred, he also claims that the weaknesses can be rectified. When asked by reporters for his assessment of the PLKN so far, he had the following to say ::
"If everybody adopt a positive attitude and understand this programme is to further strengthen the nation-building process and to mould a solid Malaysian race, I believe we can make National Service work," he said. In efforts to plug loopholes and shortcomings in the programme, trainees who are to complete their training would be given questionnaires to answer and would be interviewed to get their feedback, he said. Feedback from their parents would also be gathered to make improvements to the programme, added Najib, who is also Defence Minister.
"The national service training programme must be made voluntary for girls following the allegations of sexual crimes." "The cabinet should allow parents to withdraw their daughters with immediate effect if they desired to do so."
Mr Lim also said although Najib promptly offered his condolence to the family of the trainee who drowned, he was quicker in trying to exonerate the PLKN from any responsibility for the incident. "What Malaysians see is not a culture and ethics of responsibility, but that of evasion of responsibility by ‘passing the buck’ for the many flaws, defects and weaknesses of the programme," he added. The latest PLKN related scandal is that of an allegation of molest of 2 male trainees by a male trainer. Shouldn't Mr Lim also be calling for the cabinet to allow parents to withdraw their sons from the PLKN. Or will he make this call only when there is an allegation that a male trainee has been raped? What Najib should do is halt the PLKN, re-do the whole PLKN and then make it voluntary for parents and youths to participate in it, but then the stated aims of the PLKN might be defeated? So why not just kill the PLKN and restore the system to the time period before the one who is now a Tun made any mention of it. But then again it might mean the death of the latest cash cow for the connected.
The PLKN has been plagued by numerous problems from the word go. The list included fights, sexual harassment, poor transport, poor food, an alleged rape and now the latest in the list :: molestation of 2 male trainees by a trainer The PLKN must have some randy ones amongst its trainers. The MMail report is as follows ::
Two male trainees allege molest SIBU : Two male trainees at the KDU National Service Training Camp in Wong Nai Song Road here yesterday lodged two police reports alleging that a male trainer had outraged their modesty. They were accompanied by another trainer in making the report at the Central Police Station. The incident was said to have happened at about midnight on Saturday when the trainer entered their camp. The trainees, one from Miri and the other from Marudi, are among the second batch undergoing training. Sibu District Police Chief ACP Sebastian Gaong Nanang confirmed the police reports but declined to give details. He said the police were still investigating the case.---Bernama.
For more happenings in PLKN camps in Sarawak, follow this blog by fellow blogger Kim.
The 11th election saw Kelantan being the only State to be won by the alternative party PAS. This win was by a razor thin margin of 24 to 21 seats. Soon after polling day and the recounting of votes which gave PAS 24 seats, rumours were out regarding attempts to buy over PAS ADUNs. The present PAS government of Kelantan is indeed in a very precarious position as it only takes the loss of two seats for whatever reason for it to find itself losing the State. The PM has been reported as saying that BN will not buy over any of the Kelantan PAS ADUNs. Now that the poll results have been gazetted, election petitions can be filed by those who are not satisfied with the poll results. The Kelantan state’s deputy commissioner III Husam Musa said PAS will file election petitions for two parliamentary (Jeli and Bachok) and the nine state seats of Bukit Tuku, Mengkebang, Manek Urai, Selising, Pengkalan Kubor, Tendong, Melor, Gual Periok and Air Lanas. Kelantan BN is also said to be considering filing election petitions, but as to which seats they will file petitions are not known. But till today none have been filed by either BN or PAS. It appears that something is going on behind the scene. Are attempts being made to destabilise the PAS government? Kelantan PAS must be worried for if it were to have the election courts overturning the results of just two of the seats it presently holds it would be in big trouble. PAS Legal Adviser Takiyuddin Hassan is reported by Bernama to have said that Kelantan PAS will not go ahead with its proposal to file election petitions if Umno/BN also calls off its preparations for such petitions. He is also quoted as having said it would be better for both PAS and UMNO to pool their energies to develop Kelantan rather than being preoccupied with preparing election petitions. Is this an attempt by PAS to maintain the status quo? The same report also mentioned Husam Musa as having said that the dissolution of the Kelantan state assembly for fresh polls would be the last resort if other methods were not fruitful. Will PAS really dissolve the State Assembly before any election petitions end up in court? Is it afraid that it may lose two or more seats as a result of these petitions and that in such a situation, it may lose the right to dissolve the State Assembly? In reply to PAS, Umno Youth has challenged PAS to dissolve Kelantan Assembly as soon as possible. UMNO Youth chief, Datuk Hishammuddin said this when asked to comment on the statement by Kelantan PAS Information Chief Nik Amar Nik Abdullah that the Kelantan state government would not hesitate to dissolve the assembly "if the Kelantan BN continues with efforts to destabilise the state administration." The Information MINIster Datuk Paduka Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir has joined in the fray and said that the PAS threat of dissolution may backfire. He said the BN and Umno were prepared for a state election in Kelantan anytime :: "Going by the results of the recent general election, it is obvious that Kelantanese want a change and opted to support BN. God Willing...we will win." With its present strength, BN/UMNO is obviously in a position to find faults with the PAS government. Kelantan UMNO has initiated a SMS hotline called talian khadam in almost all the 21 Umno-controlled constituencies to enable the people to complain about the lack of infrastructure and poor government services. Kelantan Umno chief Datuk Mustapa Mohamad has also said that BN was not afraid of the threat by PAS to dissolve the state assembly, adding that “the ball is in PAS’ court.” “Umno has never pressured the government. It is merely pointing out PAS’ weaknesses. If PAS wants to dissolve the state assembly, we are prepared," Datuk Mustapa said. Has PAS worked itself into a corner? How is it going to deal with this dilemma? Will there be another election for the Kelantan State Assembly soon?
There is a report in the Star online on the death by drowning of a PLKN trainee in Sarawak. The trainee from Bintulu was found missing by his trainer at about 4.15pm, Saturday and was later found drowned in Sungai Agas, Sarawak. The trainee and a group of more than 50 national service trainees based at the UiTM Campus in Kota Samarahan were camping near Sungai Agas as one of the outdoor activities, when the tragedy occurred. This is the first fatality involving a trainee since the PLKN started in February. DPM Datuk Seri Najib and also MINIster in charge of PLKN has offered his condolences to the family of trainee, Awang Mohd Fazil Awang Borhan who drowned in Sungai Cina[Sungai Agas?], Matang in Kuching. According to the DPM, the initial report showed the drowning incident had no relation to the PLKN but "we are still investigating to determine what actually happened."
If it hadn't been for Tua Kia, i would have missed this wonderful article by Star's Andrew Sia. It is entitled 'Lessons on living' and when last checked, it could be found here, go check it out before it disappear. It's about the hot topic of the moment, the PLKN. You will be entertained and have LOL. If you are still not game to read the article, here are some excerpts for you ::
The interview starts : In response to all the reports of um . . minor problems . . . in NS camps, I hopped over to the golf club to speak to Datuk Setia Selalu, an independent training consultant. [.....] Measures to prevent further rape incident : “Datuk, what is your response to the latest allegation of an NS trainer raping a female trainee?” I asked. “Yes, we are thinking of making all the girls wear chastity belts. Only camp commanders will have the keys.” [.....] Purpose of the PLKN : “Never lose sight of the glorious goal of NS – national unity.” “We abolish all racial quotas inside NS camps. All trainees are one big, happy Bangsa Malaysia in there,” said Datuk SS. “The trainees will forget all about quotas and such things after three months of joyful patriotic songs and marching under the hot sun.” [.....] Could this be the reason for the dismal PTK results : “As you know, our best and brightest go into the corporate sector while the third graders handle our youths for seven hours a day over 11 years of schooling. That’s how we invest in the future generation,” he answered. [.....] Of handphones, place of worship and YES2NS cards : “Besides,” added Datuk SS, “Handphones are crucial for national unity. Trainees may be from different races and religions, some are rich, some are poor . . . But they are all united in one thing: the latest Nokia model. As you know, the true High Temple of Malaysian culture is MidValley Megamall. Everybody has absolute freedom of worship there.” “So that’s why all NS trainees will get a Yes2NS card?” “Correct. They wil all be entitled to a free rock concert, 10% discount on certain clothes and a RM5 book voucher. It’s a ‘badge of honour’ in recognition of their hard service to the country,” he beamed. “Fantastic!”
Under the SSM or Sistem Saraan Malaysia, all civil servants must now sit for and pass the PTK or Penilaian Tahap Kecekapan to qualify for vertical and horizontal salary increments as well as promotions. These exam requires the civil servants to sit for two objective papers covering areas such as the government structure, legal system and General Orders. Of the 130,000 teachers nationwide who took the PTK late last year only 1,170 of them passed. Questions are being asked as to how this will reflect on the profession and how are they going to face their students after this dismal performance. Questions like whether the subject areas they had to cover and study are reflective of their professional competency and what would be the effects on those who failed this PTK? A pass rate of 0.9% is frightening and horrifyingly low. How did this happen? Were the questions so fantastically tough, considering that the papers were objective ones? Must be a nightmare for the candidates. Read about what the northern States' teachers have to comment on this assessment examination, here and what the east Malaysian teachers have to say, here. This reminds me of the Peperiksaan Am of the past, where civil servants had to sit and pass that examination in order to be confirmed in service and recieve a salary increment. Many were those who had to burn the midnight oil and read up on the General Orders, Malaysian history and what not. Many professionals like engineers, dentists and doctors left for private practice instead of trying to pass the Peperiksaan Am after a few tries. Many professionals questioned the relevance of the examination in relations to their professional work. Would a dentist be able to perform better tooth extraction after passing the Peperiksaan Am, would a medical doctor be better at diagnosing and prescribing or an engineer better at road building? The examination also had two papers and if recalled correctly, one could pass one at a sitting and the other in the next. Many, then, had suspected that that examination was meant not to keep them in service but rather the opposite. Its anyone's guess.
Hiccups and farts, one at the top end and the other at the bottom. These are two activities or actions which we do experience quite often and both can have embarassing moments if they occur at the wrong time or in the wrong company.
Hiccups are bursts of inspiratory (breathing in) activity. The muscles we use when we take in a breath are the intercostal muscles situated between the ribs, and the diaphragm — a sheet of muscle below the lungs.
Hiccups are usually short-lived experiences. But sometimes hiccups persist for a long period of time and can be a sign of serious underlying disease. Persistent hiccups may signify problems in the brain, spinal cord or any of the structures around the diaphragm or chest wall. As to the best cure for them ::
Breathing into a paper bag, the best remedy, increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the lungs, relaxing the diaphragm and halting the spasms.
Farting can be embarassing and on the average it is said to occur some 14 times in an average person day. When we fart or break wind, flatus or intestinal gas is expelled through the anus. Common causes of farting includes the following :: smoking, lactose intolerance, eating certain foods eg beans, swallowing too much air, overabundance of gas producing bacteria in the colon, sweeteners like dietetic foods, sugarfree sweets and chewing gum, fizzy drinks, whole grains and bran. Most times a fart or two or even three is harmless especially when not in the company of others and can at times be so satisfying especially when the tummy is bloated. But with company and when it smells 'noxious' and odd, it can be downright antisocial. But not all flatulence is harmless, excessive passage of flatus may be due to serious life threatening conditions like :: gall bladder disease, appendicitis, irritable bowel syndrome or colonic cancer. If you are looking for a remedy for excessively foul smelling flatus, go here [ Flatulence Deodorizer™], for simpler ones, try here and if all else fails see your local GP.
Today's papers frontpages were awashed with the news of the launch of the NIP by the PM. NST called it :: Five-year plan to create noble society; the Star said :: PM launches five-year integrity plan to bring back values; Bernama said :: National Integrity Plan Can Create Moral, Ethical Society. According to the PM, the NIP had five targets for the first five years from 2004 to 2008. The targets, known as Resolution 2000, are to:
Effectively reduce corruption, irregularities and abuse of power
Enhance efficiency in the public service delivery system and overcome bureaucracy
Enhance corporate management and business ethics
Strengthen the family institution
Improve the quality of life and wellbeing of the society.
Just over a month ago, when the 11th general election was held, all these ideals of the NIP were thrown to the five winds. There were blatant abuses of powers, misuse of government machinery for election purposes, misuse of the people-owned broadcasting media to campaign for the BN and unethical vote buying by the offer of projects and programmes. The 'gentleman' caretaker PM had told BN candidates to refrain from personal attacks in their campaign but those advertorials and billboards attacking DAP and PAS mysteriously appeared during the campagn. The sense of fair play and a level playing field were clearly absent during the short election campaign period. Other abuses, too many to mention, were obvious to all who had followed the happenings and cared to look for them during that campaign period.
On polling day itself, the EC threw away caution and a good number of the rules in the book. And in the eyes of many it was a polling day where the EC appeared anything other that a body which was entrusted to ensure free and fair elections. Both the BN and alternative parties had much to complain about the irregular happpenings that day. Even the EC chairperson had called for an independent body, a Royal Commission, to look into things. But who came out quickly to say No to this call? It was none other than the man who launched the NIP yesterday!
With his recent performance and anti-NIP behaviour and his massive win in the 11th election, can we really expect much from what the NIP hopes to achieve?
According to the StraitTimes, the NIP main target will be to reduce graft, a subject the PM dedicated a major portion of his launch speech to.
He acknowledged how pervasive corruption is in Malaysian society, pointing out that 'everyone has a story about paying someone off'. 'Nearly everyone has his own story about paying off someone to speed up an application or to get off paying a traffic summons. 'We also hear of corruption cases, breaches of trust or abuse of power involving corporate and political personalities,' he said.
[.....]
He revealed statistics from a survey commissioned by the Anti-Corruption Agency in 2002 that showed how widespread graft is. About 15 per cent of the 7,594 respondents admit to having been involved in a corrupt act, and 20 per cent have witnessed an act of corruption. The government feels the real figures are higher. 'We have to tackle this problem. There is no use if Malaysian society is rich in material terms but bankrupt from the aspect of morality, ethics and integrity,' he said.
All this preaching is well and good but what is more important is to practise what one preaches and recent events certainly has much to say as to what can be expected of the preacher.
The cabinet has decided, says the MINIster in charge, the PLKN will go on & on & on. The reason being that PLKN training would have a big impact on the formation of future generations. This i believe everyone who has been following the programme would agree but is the cabinet talking about positive or negative impacts? Can the cabinet be so blind as not to be able to see what is happening to the trainees presently involved? There is almost daily reports of fights between trainees and assaults by trainers. The latest being this :: NS Trainee Whacked. Is the cabinet waiting for what most parents fear :: a report that a trainee has been fatally injured before something is done? Wake up members of the cabinet. The PLKN in its present ill-planned form is doing more harm than good as far as national integration is concerned. Suspend it, rethink it, re-organise it, re-plan it then re-implement it. Do so please before something else happens. Is the cabinet in self-denial and refuses to see the big mess the PLKN is presently in?
SARS is back in the news with one suspect case reported in China and possibly another case which has not been officially labelled as a suspect SARS case. With the knowledge gained in the recent past when SARS first appeared and caused some 800 deaths, hopefully the world is better armed to deal with the disease. As to where the SARS virus, a coronavirus, came from; scientists now believe that it must have come from an animal host or hosts and subsequently after mutating jump over to humans. Studies are on the way to specify the half-dozen suspected animal hosts. Now may be the right time to recap what we know about this deadly viral infection which almost brought international travel to a standstill and affected many industries and the economies of many a country. Go to the following links to learn more ::
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Four young gorillas from Cameroon that were smuggled to a Malaysian zoo arrived in South Africa last week where they will remain in captivity, a senior zoo official in Pretoria said Thursday. "The animals are doing extremely well," said Willie Labuschagne, executive director of South Africa's National Zoo in Pretoria. He said they were in quarantine and would be exhibited in the zoo by the end of May. The fate of the "Taiping Four," named after the Malaysian zoo where they appeared after being smuggled out of Cameroon two years ago, infuriated animal rights groups which demanded they be returned to their natural habitat.
Animal welfare groups accused South Africa of breaching international conventions by keeping the Western lowland gorillas, members of a fast-dwindling species known by the scientific name of "gorilla gorilla gorilla." "South Africa has flouted the same international conventions it helped form by allowing the so-called 'Taiping Four' to be moved to a Pretoria zoo instead of returned to Cameroon," said Christina Pretorius, a spokeswoman for the International Fund for Animal Welfare(IFAW). Wildlife groups said the gorillas had been brought to South Africa discreetly to avoid media coverage and accused the country of reneging on an earlier pledge to help resolve the issue "in the spirit of African unity." "It seems now that making money is more important to them than any African unity and that getting visitor attractions to a zoo is more important than the welfare of the animals," said Ofir Drori, director of the Last Great Apes Organization (LAGA).
Cameroon has long demanded the return of the lowland gorillas, whose population of 10,000 in Cameroon, Central African Republic, the two Congos, Gabon and Nigeria is rapidly declining because of indiscriminate hunting and logging, trading in pets and the deadly Ebola virus. Cameroon, Malaysia and South Africa are all party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which bans the sale or trade of apes caught in the wild, but gorillas are prized as a bushmeat delicacy for city dwellers and a major source of protein for poor villagers.
Pretoria zoo's Labuschagne dismissed the concerns of the welfare groups as emotional, saying a life in captivity was a good opportunity for the animals. "This is not a fantasy world. They romanticize Cameroon as animals jumping up and down the mountains, the rivers, streams and eating bananas. It's not the case. The situation in the wild is pretty bad," he said.
This report in Bernama will be laughed about for a long time. Just imagine 3 security guards falling for one of the oldest trick in the world. The three guards had just emerged from a bank in KL City Centre carrying some RM1 million in several bags when they saw several greenbacks [American dollar notes] lying around. They proceeded to collect these notes and left their own money bags unattended. While they were busy scooping up the greenbacks, their own bags were scooped by those who had scattered the greenbacks. Those who dropped the greenbacks were said to be a group of Colombians. One member of this gang was caught by an alert auxillary guard at the KL City Centre where the incident occurred. That gang member is presently detained by the polis for questioning. The gullibility of the security guards has certainly amazed the polis. It has also make us question the efficiency of the security company which is their employer. Questions about the screening done when they were employed and the training they have been given abound. What did the security guards have to say about this incident? They told the polis that they were only being helpful when they stooped to scoop up the scattered notes. Believe them or not?
Note :: According to reports in the Star and MMail the scattered currency were RM1 notes and not 'greenbacks'.
There is this report in M'kini which is based on a news report in the China Press. The latter reported that a group of PLKN trainees has launched a signature campaign in support of the trainer who is the accused in the 'alleged rape' incident.
This group of trainees are also said to be ready to give a written report on the 'true' happenings in relation to the incident. Looks like this is the other side of the tale with regards to the incident. Lets await further investigations by the polis and see how the events do roll out and don't just jump to too fast conclusions and condemnations.
Came across three rather disturbing articles today. Remember reading about the disqualification of the DAP candidate for Subang Jaya. Veteran DAP leader Cheah Kam Chiew was disallowed from contesting by the Election Commission (EC) returning officer on grounds that he had not submitted an account of expenses he incurred during the 1999 general election. Soon after nomination day there were rumours that Pak Lah was in similar straits, that he had failed to submit his expense account to the EC but Pak Lah was allowed to contest despite the PAS candidate's protest. The 11th election has been concluded and the results gazetted on 12th April. Over the next 3 weeks many election petitions would be filed. Among the first to be filed was one against the PM., PAS candidate fo the Kepala Batas parliamentary seat, Abdul Khalid Rasid, who lost to Pak Lah in the 11th general election; has failed an election petition on the grounds that Pak Lah had failed to submit a declaration of his 1999 general election expenses. The next article is by RKP, in this article entitled :: 'Will Najib be PM earlier than planned', he claims to have heard from a reliable source that Pak Lah had indeed failed to account for his 1999 GE expenses. That's is why RPK's article is so titled. Today, we have the president of PKR(Parti Keadilan Rakyat) coming out to ask for Pak Lah to go on leave until the court rules on the election petition filed against him. Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said it was not appropriate for the premier to continue discharging his duties when his position as a member of Parliament was in doubt. She also urged the Penang High Court to fix a early hearing date and deliver an impartial judgment. In her statement, she also called on the EC to investigate why the returning officers did not turn down the applications of the BN politicians on nomination day. Being a matter of great interest to the public, these election petitions should be dealt with and settled as early as possible. All parties involved should come clean and the election court judge should deal with these petitions in an expeditious manner with fear or favour. Only then will the interest of the people be satisfied.
What an evil way to make money, making fake infant milk formula. How inhuman can some profit minded people be. It has been reported in China's Anhui province that dozens of babies are said to have died from malnutrition in the past year after being fed fake or inferior-quality infant milk powders. According to official Chinese media reports, up to 200 babies who were fed formula milk of little nutritional value were affected. State officials have been sent to the city of Fuyang, in Anhui province, to investigate further. The Chinese leadership has promised that the producers of these fake formulas would be severely punished and in China this could mean the death penalty. It was not clear of the fake milk powder included any toxic ingredients, but some babies were reported to have died within three days of being fed the fake milk. The People's Daily reported ::
Some other 100 to 200 babies who had the formula came down with what doctors called "big head disease." The babies' heads grew abnormally large while their torsos, arms and legs were just skin and bones.
Previously there have been reports of contaminated milk formulas but this is probably the first time that infant formulas of no nutritional values have been reported.
Bernama reports on PLKN trainees' attempt to hold a demostration in Kedah. On Monday night, UUM security officers detained 9 trainees who were alleged to have broken into a store where goods for the college students were kept. The 9 trainees were later taken to the Jitra Police Station.
Fellow trainees, obviously unhappy with the incident, started gathering at Kolej Guthrie, UUM from 7pm. This prompted the UUM management and police to intervene, defuse the situation and foiled the planned demostration.
The 9 detained trainees were released by the police after questioning them and had their statements taken. Its looks like more PLKN woes are forth coming. This failed demo did not make it to the mainstream media today.
The PLKN debacle continues, while some parents worry sick fearing for what their children may have to suffer and endure, the MINIster in charge rattles on about his not so assuring assurances that all would be well. Meanwhile PLKN council member, Tan Sri Lee is urging parents not to panic or speculate on the alleged rape incident as the council has taken steps to prevent a repeat of such an incident. Haven't parents heard all that before? Requests by parents, the youths concerned, alternative parties and NGOs for a better planned PLKN and for the programme to be implemented later fell on deaf ears. Inputs and suggestions from them also fell on the wayside or were put in the garbage bin or put into cold storage. So hastily, surreptiously, in the most secretive and non-transparent manner, the PLKN was concieved and born. What can one expect of a 'baby' concieved under such conditions, but the mess it is today. Much time must have been spent on concieving the 'cool uniforms', the transport contracts, the food catering contracts, the trainer sourcing contracts and yes the 'YES2NS' discount contracts. All these contracts smells of unhealthy activities. The PLKN now appears more a commercialized event than a programme to unite the youths of ours and to achieve stated aims of the PLKN, which seems to have faded into the background. The latest incident is probably the last straw for many concerned parents. Many must have wished they could rush off to the various camps and bring their children home. The lastest incident is shrouded in mystery and smells. From thhe media sources, the incident is said to have happened on the night of 28th or 29th Feb, in the trainer's car, after he had given her, a 17 year old trainee, a lift to the bank. How she left camp without the commandant's knowledge is a mystery. Why she went out at night alone with a male trainer is another. Anyway after the incident she had brought it to the notice of the camp officials. All these happened during the 1st phase of her PLKN training in Terengganu. Next mystery is why did she not bring it up to her parents' notice? It is only when she moved on to phase two of her training and after seeing that no action had been taken, she reported the incident eventually to the KL police when she moved on to her next phase of training on 13th April (some 6 weeks later). The police swiftly moved into action and the suspect, a 29 year old army man was apprehended. From what has been reported the police has a cold trail to follow and much evidence may have gone missing. But with everyone from the PM down clamouring for fast action, police 'CSI' team may surprise us. In the meanwhile, lets not speculate but allow the police to get on with their investigations. This incident has brought out in the open when many of us have suspected, the PLKN in its hasty conception has many aspects which has been overlooked and not subjected to stringent screening. The recruiting of trainers has been slipshod and has been contracted out, this has been admitted by none other than the PLKN Training Council Chairman Prof Datuk Dr Ahmad Fawzi Mohd Basri. He reportedly said no screening was done on the current batch of trainers, comprising servicemen and ex-servicemen, due to time constraint. What should be done now is for all those involved in the PLKN, in its planning and development and implementation, to admit that the whole programme has been a sham right from the word go and with the present mess it is in, it should be suspended. It should undergo the process of being overhauled, thought through, brainstormed and put through the entire works with all rules and safety measures in place for the safety of all, before it is reintroduced.
Where is the PLKN heading to? There have been fights between trainees, fights between trainers and trainees, camp commander and trainers walking out and now there is an alleged rape of a trainee by a trainer.
Terengganu CID Chief ACP Lim Char Boo said police received a report on the alleged rape of the trainee on Tuesday ie 13th April. This must have been kept under wraps for the past few days, how can this happen? Why the hush-hush? The alleged rape was said to have taken place at the Merang training camp in Setiu, Terengganu.
The PM has described the incident as a despicable, heinous, unforgiveable and shameful act; he has also said that the government would not tolerate such demeanours. Is that all that Pak Lah thinks it amounts to? We would like to add that the nation would not tolerate such a despicable, unforgiveable, heinous, inhuman, thoroughly shameful, thoroughly evil, montrous, flagitous and wicked crime. And if he is guilty, the books should be thrown at him and may he rot in hell.
Pak Lah has directed the police to speed up investigations into the case so that the alleged rapist could be imposed the maximum punishment under the law, if he is guilty.
If it is true as reported that the alleged victim is currently still undergoing phase 2 of the PLKN, something must be seriously wrong with those running the programme. They definitely need their heads examined apart from other things which need to be done.
The DPM, the MINIster in charge of PLKN, may be of the view that the spate of problems in the PLKN will serve as valuable lessons in unity for youths to learn from. He added that said one of the main objectives of PLKN was to teach the youngsters how to manage such conflicts and resolve them. Betul kah?. Surely the trainees and parents beg to differ.
One of P. Ramlee's classic hits Madu Tiga may end up being banned on RTM due to the Information Ministry's latest ruling which disallows the airing of Malay songs with lyrics that are intertwined with a sprinkling of English words like “I Love You”. Songs that have been “taken off the air” include Anita Sarawak's Seksis and Diva, Ruffedge's Tipah Tertipu, Too Phat's Alhamdulillah and KRU's latest song Bade.
According to producer and songwriter Norman Halim, the move is both impractical and unfair as it prevents musical creativity and expression. He added that it was ironic that the ministry did not impose the same restriction on Malay songs with Arabic chorus lines. The issue is said to have cropped up after Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka (DBP) chided the Information Ministry and Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission[MCMC] for allowing songs like Seksis and Diva to be aired.
New Information MINIster, Datuk Paduka Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, says he is not aware of this ban, according to Bernama and he will carry out a probe into this alleged ban. "If at all we want to ban, it is not because of several English words used in the song (but) we do ban obscene words and so on," he told reporters. According to the MINIster, the banning of any song from being aired by RTM was done at the officers' level. Little wonder he is not aware. Anyway he went on to say :: "We will correct it, but I'm certain that they were not banned just because they contained English words...the meaning (of the words) may be obscene, we don't want any element of obscenity." Presumably, "I love you" in Tiga Madu, possess some degree of this! But as far as the MINIster was concerned it was not a problem if English words (presumably not obscene ones) were included in the lyrics of Malay songs. So there you have it from the MINIster's mouth. Probably some junior officer will be blamed for the ruling and RTM can continue to play these borderless rojak songs for all to enjoy.
Now a few words from our new Arts, Culture and Heritage MINIster, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim regarding rojak language ::
On the heritage element in the national language, Dr Rais felt that the most glaring aspect was how it was being spoken in the country. “This can also be a question for the Education Ministry but in the heritage department, we would like to say: Do not make the language so rojak (mixed) so as to make it unintelligible in the future. The French don't mix their language with other words. But in Malaysia, half our sentences is in English while the other half is in Malay. In the end, we don't pick up the good parts in either language. “I've already told my officers: “When you give briefings, either you give it in Malay or you give it in English. Don't make a rojak out of it,” he added.
The new MINIster of Arts, Culture and Heritage has more to say then just on rojak language; he has much more, on :: 'arabisation', 'wayang kulit', Islam Hadhari, 'mak yong' and 'manora' and more.
The Taiping 4, remember, those 4 baby gorillas illegally obtained by Taiping Zoo have quietly left Taiping. The [MCA]Star reported that ::
The four young gorillas illegally sourced from Nigeria have been safely sent from the Taiping Zoo to Pretoria, South Africa, in a hush-hush move aimed at dodging the media.
It is learnt that the animals, accompanied by Taiping Municipal Council president, Datuk Jamalludin Al Amini Ahmad, their keeper, K. Mani, and a veterinarian, departed on Tuesday.
The reason for the transfer being on a hush-hush basis is because of the controversy surrounding the illegal purchase of the 4 babies which contravened Cites convention. The transaction was exposed by the International Primate Protection League when it disclosed that the Nigerian facility did not have a breeding programme as stated in the export permit, thus casting doubts on the legality of the shipment. So the 4 babies were kept in cold storage till they could be returned. Conservationists including Jane Goodall have clamoured for them to be sent to Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon. The previous MINIster-in-charge has also left cabinet service, he had wanted to send the babies to Pretoria Zoo and hope that eventually the offsprings of these babies will be given to Malaysia. Will this happen in the future, just wait and see. In an attempt to be one of the few Zoos to have gorillas, some USD1.6 million were said to have been paid for these baby gorillas, what a waste of taxpayers' money. Till date there has been no news of anyone being charged for this illegal trade. The former MINIster Law had promised that action would be taken, but then he has gone, now the gorillas are gone but the guilty one(s) are still free. Remember this is Boleh Land.
The [MCA]Star reported :: For about a month, the Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) functioned without a president. Then there were two. President No 1, Md Aris Ariffin took his oath as MPSP President at 10.00am; President No 2, Datuk Abdul Ghani Ariffin received the transfer order from the Public Services Department (PSD) at 3.00pm. According to the [MCA]Star 'spin' report ::
Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said there was no double appointment of president for the council. Describing this as a case of misunderstanding, he said Md Aris was only an acting president to ensure there was no long gap or discontinuity in the council's leadership.
A blogger called this happening :: Cabinet's 2nd fart goes to Koh Tsu Koon and goes on to say :: However, Penang chief minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon put a big boot in his mouth when he insisted the appointment of a council president was "usually the prerogative of the State Exco".
The [UMNO]NST has this to say :: "Ghani is council president". Excerpts from this report ::
The Federal Government has over-turned the Penang Government’s choice for the Seberang Prai Municipal Council president, stating that Datuk Abdul Ghani Ariffin will assume that post on Friday. This ends the two-day con- fusion over who heads the council. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today that Ghani, the Seberang Prai Utara district officer, replaces Ismail Mamat who retired on March 16. Najib said: "Datuk Ghani is the president. Md Aris was only covering the duties of the president and as he might be required to use powers of the office, he was required to take the oath (of office). It's purely technical. "So there is no question of two council presidents. This is what the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Samsuddin Osman briefed the Cabinet (today)," he said at the DSA exhibition.
So who is really responsible for appointment of the MPSP President and who is the MPSP President gonna be? The Sun may have the answer :: It's my prerogative: Koh on appointment of council head. Excerpts from the report on sun2surf ::
1. Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said on Thursday that there is no such thing as the federal government overturning the decision of the state in relation to the appointment of the Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) president. 2. Koh said that Abdul Ghani will not be sworn-in on Friday as reported by certain quarters. "We have not decided on who is to be the next president ... but he (Abdul Ghani) is definitely not going to be sworn in on Friday and the PSD (Public Services Department) has confirmed this. 3. Meanwhile, Najib, when asked by reporters, conceded that it was a decision for the state government to make.
One point for Koh Tsu Koon, zero for Najib, zero for the spin doctors. And the MPSP President is ........
The MOH is presently conducting its KICK(Kempen Immunisasi Campak Kebangsaan) which is a campaign to give a booster dose of measles vaccine to those who are in the 7 to 15 years age group. Due to the poor publicity given prior to the initiation of the campaign there has been much negative response from the public and some NGOs, particularly the Consumer Association of Penang[CAP]. Parents have questioned why their children needed a booster dose when they have already been immunised before. CAP has raised the possiblity of the development of atypical measles in those vaccinated. This has further caused confusion to parents. The MOH has refuted the claims by CAP that immunization against measles will lead to a more serious form of the disease known as atypical measles. Bernama has reported the MINIster as saying that CAP's claims were unfounded because there was no such medical term. "On a large scale like this, there are bound to be reactions to the inoculation but these reactions cannot be termed as atypical measles which does not exist," he said. For the MINIster's information there is a syndrome called atypical measles syndrome. This syndrome occurs if a person were given the old killed-virus measles vaccine (which does not provide complete immunity and is no longer in use); or the person were given attenuated (weakened) live measles vaccine that was, by accident, inactivated during improper storage. Immunization with inactivated measles virus does not protect against the measles virus infection. When such an individual, who does not develop immunity, but is instead sensitised to measles, is subsequently infected by the wild form of the measles virus, atypical measles syndrome can develop in this individual. With the killed vaccine no longer in use and the proper handling and storage of the attenuated live vaccine, atypical measles syndrome should not occur these days. KICK is another example of how the government goes around hastily, shoving things down the public throats. More dissemination of info regarding KICK, the need and goodness of the programme, the possible side effects, to the public would have lead to its better acceptance and less worry on the part of the public. When will the government learn?
According to malaysiakini, the Shah Alam High Court has overturned Ezam's OSA Conviction. Justice KN Segara reported to have said that there were inconsistencies in the case which the prosecution failed to prove. Earlier, on 8th April, the judge questioned the prosecution on the credibility of the ‘secret’ ACA report - the vital piece of evidence used to convict Ezam for breaching the Official Secrets Act (OSA).
The ill-thought out NS training programme has resulted in its present problems. What is confronting the MINIster-in-charge of Program Latihan Khidmat Negara (PLKN) presently is how to deal with the 10,000 PKLN shirkers. That it is not prepared to deal with these shirkers efficiently shows how poorly the whole programme has been planned and again show up the PKLN as a poorly thought out rush job.
First the NS Training Council Chairman Prof Datuk Dr Ahmad Fawzi Mohd Basri said Friday that the shirkers would be charged in court. Did he consider how the Council was going to trackdown all the 10,000 shirkers, so far only 2,700 of them could be contacted? If rounding up all 10,000 was possible, how long would it take to charge all of them in court? What would be the expenses involved? For those among the shirkers who are among the nation's work force, imagine the number of work-hours lost and the loss of income?
Next we have the public coming out clamouring for these shirkers not to be taken to court, that they be given a second chance and a more friendly approach in coaxing them to attend the national service should be considered.
Finally Pak Lah came out with the decision to give these 10,000 shirkers a second chance. Did he really have any other choice after being aware of the problems which would be encountered if the 'charge them in court' decision was carried out and the feelings of the public. Again this had the mark of a hasty unthought out decision.
The decision to give the shirkers a second chance has lead to logistic problems of its own. The ball now is at the Council's feet to implement the PM's hasty decision. Where to house these shirkers, when to have the training programme, who would their trainers be? The council would hold an emergency meeting on this Friday to address these issues. Would more problems crop up or would there be solutions? Till today the he location of the proposed ‘special camp' for some 100 troublemakers has yet to be identified.
When the day comes to finally analyse results of the PLKN, would the stated objectives of the PLKN be achieved? Considering the amount of taxpayers' money spent and the energies expanded by the trainees and their parents, the answer better be in the affirmative. If the stated objectives are just a pipe dream with the present state that the programme is in, the PLKN should be suspended in its present form and be introduced later after a thorough overhaul and inputs from all concerned.
The postal votes are in question once again, this time by the EC. In the 11th election, some 33% of postal ballots given out were not returned. According to the EC chairman, out of 200,712 which were given out, a total of 67,177 postal ballots were not returned to the ballot box. A pretty high figure of 1 in 3 unreturned! The Star reported that according to the EC chairman, after investigations, [obviously he must have conducted them,] he has uncovered a ruse by supporters of opposition parties who misused unreturned postal ballot papers to claim that votes for their parties were deliberately chucked out.
Describing how it was done, the EC chairman said these opposition party people went round the country and collected unreturned ballot papers, particularly those meant for postal voters, and then marked them in favour of their parties. These ballot papers were eventually found to be unreturned postal ballot papers – based on the serial numbers. How the opposition party people had the resources to do so and why those with the unreturned postal ballot papers were willing to pass over to them were unexplained. Furthermore, the EC chairman added that “I never expected them to stoop this low to discredit us. It is now up to the people to judge who are the liars.” He can rest assured that the public will definitely be able to judge who are the liars.
Some postal ballots were indeed found by the alternative party people among garbage but the majotiy of them were marked for BN and not for the alternative parties as claimed by the EC chairman. Could he care to explain this with a further spin?
When asked regarding the on the high number of spoilt votes, nearly 300,000 of them, the EC chairman said it was because many voters had deliberately disfigured the ballot papers by writing abusive messages or drawing obscene pictures on the photographs of the candidates that they did not vote for. The Star reported :: “Some of the messages and pictures were unbelievably obscene,” he said. As to how these spoilt voters managed these 'unbelieveably obscene pictures' during the short time they had spent in the voting booths and why they should exhibit their obscene artistic talents is also equally 'unbelievable'.
The EC chairman also claimed that the last general election was conducted freely and fairly, adding that those who had failed to receive majority votes from the people should respect the people's decision. This is an about turn from his previous call to have an independent body, preferably a Royal Commision to look into the 11th election conduct. We will look forward to further spins from him.
Malaysia has launched a new programme to get foreigners to retire here for as little as RM100K. This programme is called "MALAYSIA MY SECOND HOME" and it invites retirees to make this country their second home. In 1987, the "Silver Hair" programme was launched to target retirees aged above 65. There were few takers because of the programme's limited appeal. The new programme looks more appealing. The terms and conditions can be found on the Immigration Website.
Recently, AsiaTimes online reported on this programme and said its primary purpose is to invite people from other countries to share in the ethnic and cultural diversity of Malaysia according to the Malaysian consul general in Hong Kong.
The Malaysian consul is also quoted as saying ::
"We Malays are not greedy people and we do not want to pull money from investors' pockets," he said. "Our country is a harmonic society embracing many different nationals. We only want to invite people from all over the world to share our experiences and enjoy our unique features and style. We hope they can become our friends and bring us new connections."
The online news provider speculated that apart from Hongkies, the mainlanders may also be targetted ::
In fact, the immigration program holds more charms to mainlanders than to Hong Kong people, who already can enter Malaysia with an easily obtainable tourist visa. A mainland applicant has to go through cumbersome legal procedures to obtain a visa of a very limited duration, and current regulations prohibit entry by Chinese nationals from other countries. Also, with its low financial threshold of US$26,300 (HK$210,000)[RM100k], the programme seems designed to whet the appetite of corrupt bureaucrats wanting to leave China with their swollen pockets intact.
The thought of these corrupt bureaucrats becoming retirees here and bringing along their connections are rather worrying. This might end up with more triad activities of the wrong kind.
Kelantan Poor to get RM20 million for house repair
This must be one of those fast aksi to help the hardcore poor. Bernama reports :: The federal government has allocated a RM20 million fund specially for repairing some 20,000 houses of the poor in Kelantan. MINIster in the PM's Department Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said each house would receive RM2,000 for repairs which would be carried out on gotong-royong basis. A good measure to provide for the poor but what's not so fair is what the MINIster has to add ::
For the poor people in Barisan Nasional-held constituencies, he said they would get more than those in PAS-held constituencies in appreciation of the support to the BN in the recent general election. "The people will soon notice a marked difference in the kampungs after choosing the BN," he said.
Are the BN poor to be differently treated from the PAS poor? Aren't the poor the same and their needs similar. Is the dacing tilted against PAS poor? Is the BN government an unfair one? Mr MINIster, Sir, please do not get 'cocky', do you need reminders that the BN government is for all Malaysians--irregardless of whether they are supporters of DAP, PAS, BN, Keadilan or any other.
Looks like my dreams are coming true. First there was the new MINIster from MORRD, who said he wanted to eradicate rural hardcore poverty in 3 years; now we have the old MINIster from the Ministry of Housing and Local Government---MOHLG who wants to eradicate urban hardcore poverty in 5.
Soon after the BN landslide victory in the just concluded 11th general election on March 21, Pak Lah had said one of his priorities is to fight poverty and reduce the poverty rate in the country significantly. And for the fight against urban poverty, he has entrusted the task to the MOHLG. The MINIster concerned announced that a think-tank comprising NGOs and professionals who could provide input on how to deal with urban poverty. “The think-tank will include those from local authorities in charge of urban areas,” the MINIster added.
How is the hardcore poor defined :: according to the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), those with a household income of RM529 and less a month in Peninsular Malaysia, RM600 in Sarawak and RM650 in Sabah are considered to be in the hardcore poor category. Social Strategic Foundation (YSS) executive director Dr Denison Jayasooria said a total of 69,000 or 2% of households in the country were regarded as urban poor in 2002, including 12,000 which were considered hardcore poor. But YSS appears to have its own definition of the hardcore poor :: the urban poor is defined as a family of 5 with a monthly income of between RM529 and RM690, while the hardcore poor earned only half the figure. So to begin with, can we have one definition of hardcore poor relevant to year 2004.
It looks like the government is serious about poverty eradication, both urban and rural, the Deputy MINIster of MOHLG has been reported by Bernama as saying :: "Urban Poverty Eradication Tops Agenda For Sarawak".
Urban and rural poverty involve the deprivation of basic amenities, services, conditions of neighbourhood, quality of life and educational needs and are interrelated to crime, domestic violence, poor education, gangsterism and other social ills and family problems.
There is much to be done and instead of just having the MORRD and MOHLG tackle these issues of rural and urban poverty separately, policies could be made after discussions in Parliament by both sides of the political divide, NGOs, civil society and the views of the people in the streets should also be taken into consideration. This poverty probem needs to be tackled from all angles to come out with solutions which are not just for the short term but for the long one.
The DAP chairperson who will return to Parliament after a 5 year haitus has called for Parliamentary reforms. Lim Kit Siang, who is now the MP for Ipoh Timor, after winning in the recently concluded 11th election, is keen to see some changes in Parliament. He is likely to be the opposition leader in the new 11th Parliament. He has called for live telecast of Parlimentary proceedings and would like to see new parliamentary select committees set up on information technology, human rights, women’s agenda, environment, mass media and corruption. Lim has also called for extension of question time and allocation of certain days every week to deal specifically with matters involving the opposition. All these sounds good.
But it looks like all that Lim is thinking of is unlikely to see the light of day. The new MINIster-in-charge of Parliament has different views. This is reported by Bernama, quoting the new MINIster-in-Charge of Parliament, Datuk Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, as saying :: "I will recommend to the prime minister not to agree to this [Lim's] proposals. There are more negative consequences rather than positive outcomes." And what are these negative consequences worrying Nazri, the poor soul is worried that certain quarters might play to the gallery and fights might break out among our MPs! "There are scenes of MPs fighting in some countries. We don't want the people to watch such things here...furthermore there are times when the house may look deserted because the quorum is only 26," he added. Don't we the taxpayers have a right to be made aware of such things and happenings?
Live telecasts of Parliamentary proceeding would allow the people to see their MPs in action and also at the same time allow for those who are slacking and sleeping or nodding away to be spotted. They will also ensure that the MPs will be kept on the toes, will behave appropriately and discharge their responsiblities. The sexist remarks made in the past will be things of the past. Another possible good effect will be the lack of quorum during Parliamentary sessions will not occur as the MPs will realise that the electorate will be watching. Look on the bright side, Mr MINIster-in-Charge, there will surely be more positive consequences than negative ones.
We call upon the PM, who likes the truth and transparency, to give some thoughts to Lim's suggestion and make the new Parliament more transparent for all to see and hear.
The Sun is said to have reported that more MPs will be charged for false claims. So far two have been charged.
The remaining 12 who were investigated for making claims which were in excess of RM10,000 a month are :: BN :: Jawah Gerang (Lubok Antu), Robert Lau Hoi Chew (Sibu), Mastika Junaidah (Arau), Kong Chor Har (Lumut), Hoo Seong Chang (Kulang), Lim Bee Kau (Padang Serai), Dr James Dawos Mamit (Mambong), Jimmy Donald (Sri Aman), Ronald Kiandee (Beluran), and Abu Bakar Othman (Jerlun). PAS :: Abdul Rahman Yusof (Kemaman), Abdul Fatah Harun (Rantau Panjang), and Mohd Nasir Che Daud (Kuala Krai). DAP :: Goh Kheng Huat (Nibong Tebal).
Some of them are no longer with their former party or are no longer MPs in the new Parliament. The Sun sources said that at least four more will be charged under the Anti Corruption Act. More ikan bilis to add to the net. Now once again we asked where are the 18?
Our newly appointed MINIsters are certainly men of substance. A few days ago the newly appointed MOH said that waiting time at Poliklinik Kommuniti can be reduced by 50%, now we hear that the new MINIster of Rural and Regional Development---MORRD (formerly MINIstry of Rural Development) intends to eradicate hardcore poverty and modernise villages in three years. The name change of his MINIstry certainly has given him impetus and sudden immediate powers to do what the BN government, which has been in power for the past almost 5 decades, has failed.
One only has to go to the rural areas of States like Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah to see what has been achieved under prolonged BN rule. One just has to talk to the people in these areas to find out what progress and improved economic power the long BN rule has brought them. Kelantan and Terangganu may have been under PAS at times for the major portion of the past 5 decades, the two States have also been under BN. Development requires the Federal government to provide the funds but during the periods when the States were/are not under BN, they have been/are subjected to fund limitations, good example is the withdrawal of Petronas funds when PAS took over Terangganu after the 1999 election.
i am indeed happy and it is heartening to hear all that the new MINIster of MORRD has to say regarding his programme to eradicate poverty ::
“Although this ministry has very heavy tasks as it covers large rural areas in both Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak, I am confident this can be done if we put our minds to changing the attitudes of rural folks. “We want to reactivate and make the ministry more dynamic.”
It is obvious whoever was the previous MINIster (can't recall his name) he must have slept on his job as the MINIstry apart from having a name change, requires reactivation and requires to be 'dynamicised'. The new MORRD MINIster has also a pan-Malaysia outlook for he has also taken Sabah and Sarawak into consideration in the same breath, very refreshing indeed. And he seems to exude confidence about his programme. We must certainly wish him well and look towards 2007, a short three years away, when rural poverty will be a thing of the past. Can we also have such a dynamic MINIster to attend to urban poverty.
2 ex-MPs were charged for false parliament claims. See Bernama and Star reports. The two charged were ::
1. Mohd Apandi Mohamad, 43, the former Jeli MP from PAS, claimed trial to making 13 false claims totalling RM31,050 from November 11, 2002 to July 27, 2003.
2. Ramli Ibrahim, the former Kota Baru MP from Party Keadilan Nasional, claimed trial to making a false claim of RM792 on November 7, 2002.
Looking at the amounts involved, one would have to conclude that they are the smallest of ikan bilis. Looking at the haste the ACA has worked on these cases and the fact that they were ex-alternative MPs. Looking also that no mention has been made of the other 12 investigated, among whom are some BN MPs. Is this a sandiwara or temporary entertainment to keep the natives happy and satisfied for the moment prior to the main event?
Where are the 18 prominent VIP cases which were mentioned by none other than the ex-defacto law minister? ACA you have to do better.
Lately there has been much talk regarding "Bangsa Malaysia", see this blog on Screenshots. A fellow blogger, theResident, who has his blog here, is interested to find out more about what the term Bangsa Malaysia means to fellow bloggers.
Let him tell you all about it in his e-mail which follows ::
Dear Bloggers, Firstly, let me apologise for the intrusion with this e-mail. I’m the guy known as Resident, who authors the blog Simply Rojak – who can also be seen randomly leaving comments on your blogs.
If you can, please spare me a few moments of you time.
Recently, Jeff Ooi of Screenshots blogged about the term Bangsa Malaysia and to date there has been more than 150 comments left by readers on that post – touching on issues ranging from the term’s definition, the understanding of the term, ways to achieve it and even on the effect our education system has on racial integration.
Some comments were insightful and well-written. I share some of their sentiments and I am glad that others have the same understanding and aspirations as mine, of the term Bangsa Malaysia.
My intention of writing this e-mail is basically to find out about what the term Bangsa Malaysia means to my fellow bloggers. Each of us has our own ideals as to what Bangsa Malaysia should be or whether it’s even a plausible idea. However, I notice that we seldom share these thoughts, which actually defeats the purpose of forging a common identity.
So, out of curiosity, I wish to make a compilation of the thoughts of my fellow bloggers on the simple but greatly encompassing term, which is Bangsa Malaysia. The compilation will be posted on Simply Rojak, should you guys decide to participate.
The blogging world is an excellent tool for discussions and I guess by doing this compilation I am hoping to push the topic further into the blogging community. Why am I doing this? I don’t know. Call it a pro-active measure in my attempt at public participation.
Many of you have high civic awareness and it would be interesting to read our ideas on what Bangsa Malaysia mean or should mean. Moreover, bloggers comes from various walks of life and different generations – your views will mostly be different. But how different are they?
So, if you would indulge me in this small project, I hope you can tell me your views on the term Bangsa Malaysia. As a guide the following questions might help:
1) How do you define Bangsa Malaysia? 2) What does Bangsa Malaysia mean to you? Does it affect you in any way? 3) What are the criteria, in your opinion, for a Bangsa Malaysia? 4) Do we need a Bangsa Malaysia? 5) Do you want a Bangsa Malaysia? 6) How do you think we can best achieve the creation of a Bangsa Malaysia?
The above is merely a guide and do note that I am not asking anyone to make a political stand. All bloggers are writers in their own right, so please write as much (or as little) as you want.
Thank you for reading this long-winded e-mail, but I do sincerely hope that I would hear from you guys soon.
Thanks again.
Yours sincerely, Resident
You can write to theResident at this e-mail :: wolf715@yahoo.com. At the end of the exercise we may yet get to know who is Bangsa Malaysia and do we really need it.
We have the Popular Card, the MPH Reader's Circle card, the Store Card, Real Rewards card, Bonus Link card and for all those who are NS trainees, announcing the launch of the "YES2NS" identification-cum-discount card. This is probably also the brain-child of our MINIster-in-charge of NS in collaboration with Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Affin ACF Finance Bhd, Pos Malaysia Bhd and Brunsfield Group. The participating companies are :: Pan Global Insurnace Bhd, Pan Global Services Sdn Bhd, MPH Bookstores Sdn Bhd, Senheng Electric (KL) Sdn Bhd and BTC Clothier Sdn Bhd.
What's on offer for "YES2NS" cardholders ::
From the Pan Global Insurance ::
free entry to the "Rock The World V" concert
RM10,000 free "X-Treme Lifestyle" insurance
free membership to PanGlobal Online
free membership of "Musiccanteen", an internet portal providing songs online, initial download 12 favourite songs FOC.
MPH Bookstores :: RM5 free vouchers for every RM50 purchase in a single receipt
Senheng electrical shop chain :: RM25 free voucher for purchase at any of its outlet.
BTC Clothier :: 10 per cent discount for apparel purchases made at One Utama and Maju Junction shopping complexes.
Future applications of "YES2NS" card :: Could there be more participating discount outlets/companies to come in the future? Earlier on there were mention made of considering those who have completed NS training first when gomen jobs are applied for. Apart from this could "YES2NS" cardholders also be given special considerations for entry into institutes of higher learning?
Further questions re-"YES2NS" cards :: Renewable annually? :: YES Any fees payable? :: DKY -Don't know yet, but probably yes. Transferrable ownership? :: DKY Supplementary card(s)? :: DKY Loyalty points awarded? :: Probably yes with accompanying exchange programme. For further FAQs :: Try Asia Inet Commerce Sdn Bhd Director Sandra Wong or check out the website for FAQs and more.
Will there be other spinoffs from the NS training programme? In the future there maybe "Old NS Trainees Associations", "Annual Get-Together of NS Trainees", "NS Training Collectibles" and more. This year alone there will be 85,000 "YES2NS" cardholders, and if the programme blossoms and continues, each year will produce at least another 85,000 more.
See the photo of the MINIsters and their future investment here. Caption also courtesy of Bernama :: "FUTURE INVESTMENT… Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak poses with National Service trainees after launching the YES2NS card in Shah Alam".
While the alternative parties, bloggers and others are lamenting about the woes of NS trainees; Najib, the MINIster-in-charge of it, is instituting damage control and trying to send out good vibs.
Bernama reported that Najib accompanied Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalullail on a visit to the National Service Training Camp at the Ayer Keroh Recreational Forest. Here the Agong spent some three hours mingling with the NS trainees. His Majesty, after observing (probably properly selected) NS trainees undergoing obstacle courses, had lunch with several selected trainees and dignitaries at the camp.
When asked by reporters, Najib said that based on feedback received from trainees at the Ayer Keroh Camp, the trainees said that they were very happy with the experience gained. Najib also rejected suggestions by certain quarters that the NS training programme be stopped and a review carried out following reports of breach of discipline including gangsterism. He pooh pooh these reports but said :: "The programme need not be suspended and (the incidents) should not be exaggerated. However, we take a serious view on the matter and instructed the military units to tighten discipline." If the reports are mere exaggerations, why call in the army?
Regarding the report of an alleged molest case, Najib said what had happened was that a trainee had fallen sick and the trainer tried to help the trainee concerned. But according to this Malaysiakini report, the trainer had been pecat and an apology extended to the victim and family by the camp commandant. Now who is doing the spin doctoring or under-the-carpet sweeping?
For the moment definitely the NS will not be suspended but already there are talks of fine tuning like :: 1. Discipline training in terms of military styled drills and specific training would be introduced 2. Limiting NS for only those who pass the SPM 3. Reducing boredom for the trainees All these measures don't appear to be concrete stuff but once again adhoc short-term talk-talk to appease the natives. Can the MINIster-in-charge come out with more concrete stuff and solutions, and not sweep things under the proverbial carpet, please.
Katak baiting is in season. The Sun has reported that Awang Adek, who is the new MP for Bachok from BN, has issued an open invitation to PAS assemblymen in the state to join BN. His reason for them to join BN is that the present PAS state government is weak and this would cause Kelantan's development to be affected in the long run. He said the PAS assemblymen “have to sacrifice” and this is not a case of lompat katak but to ensure the well-being of the Kelantan people.
Does our new Timbalan Menteri Pembangunan Luar Bandar dan Wilayah knows what he is talking about or is it the BN way? Don't worry about what the electorate wants, once voted in, jump as you like, what more it is for the 'well-being of the Kelantan people'. Don't make it a moral issue, don't worry of the electorate trust, there is a higher good. No wonder some say some politicians are like them.
Will the PAS ADUNs of Kelantan rise to the occasion or opportunity? Lets wait and see. BN may yet get to rule Kelantan via the backdoor, despite not winning on polling day. When the PM spoke of 'zero corruption', did he include moral corruption of ADUNs?
LONE's rantings for all interested, COMMENTS/KOPI-0s welcomed. Comments are solely the views of their makers MALAYSIA, a great place to be in, BUT we can, will and must make HER better.
You may say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one. IMAGINE:youtube::John Lennon
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:: LONE